


When I get the chance

by Colourspaz



Series: When I get the Chance [1]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, also the newtmas is kind of background, and it's a fix-it, because, but with more angst and gay, fight me, i took the movie verse and i took the book verse and i smashed them together and said, its a mix of book verse and movie verse, its julia verse now bitches, minally, mostly what gally did while the others were in the scorch, oh my god i love this ship too much, why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-04 15:24:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14595984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colourspaz/pseuds/Colourspaz
Summary: Minho and Gally have a bigger fight than they thought and apologizing has to be put on holdOr, the series from Gally’s perspective





	1. Bad beginnings and far-away endings

Minho didn’t notice the hickey until he was in the shower. He stormed back to the Homestead, accidentally knocking someone over on his way back in. He woke Gally up, starting a rant as soon as he could tell he was awake. 

“Minho, what-” 

“Are you kidding me?” Minho asked, pointing at his neck. “Everyone’s gonna see that! I can’t cover this up at all!” he said loudly, almost yelling. 

“Minho, I’m sorry, I didn’t m-”

“You didn’t mean to, it was an accident. You say that every time!” Minho ranted, throwing his arms up. 

“Minho, calm down! I am sorry!” Gally was fully awake now, sitting up and trying to calm Minho down. 

“Just-ugh. We’ll talk about this later. I have to go into the Maze with Alby today to look at the dead Griever.” Minho stood up, pulling his shirt on as he walked away.

But ‘later’ never came. 

As the sky got darker and darker, Gally became more and more worried. Minho had to make it back. If he didn’t, he’d die. And he couldn’t die when they were in the middle of a fight. And a pointless one at that. 

Everyone was waiting outside the Doors at that point, anxious.Thomas wouldn’t stop asking questions as usual, and a few boys had come to the fact that, no, they weren’t going to make it. Because the Doors had started closing. 

Right when Minho, carrying an unconscious Alby, rounded the corner.

Right away, everyone started yelling and cheering Minho on, but none were louder than Gally. 

“Leave him, Minho! C’mon!”

But it wasn’t enough. The Doors were about to close, and Gally was about to come to terms with the fact that, yes, he was most likely never going to see Minho again and apologize, and-and then Thomas sprinted into the maze at the last minute, squeezing through and as soon as he was on the other side, the Doors closed for the night. 

Everyone slowly began walking away from the Doors, but Gally couldn’t help linger for a bit before turning and walking into the Deadheads. Once he was far enough in, he finally broke down, dropping to the ground and tucking his knees into his chest.

He stayed there the entire night, crying silently. It was Chuck who found him the next morning, thankfully not commenting on the tear tracks on his face, but simply saying “They made it.” Gally is up in an instant, running past Chuck and to the Doors, where, yes, he can see Minho and Thomas kneeling on the ground, surrounded by the other Gladers. Alby was there too, albeit unconscious and being carried away by Clint and Jeff. 

He stays near the back of the crowd, trying to hide the relief inside-Minho’s alive. Somehow. He guesses Thomas has something to do with it, and for once he isn’t incredibly annoyed with the boy. He is annoyed with the crowd, though. All he wants to do is drag Minho to the Deadheads and kiss him breathless and apologize until he grows hoarse. 

But things never go his way, do they? After the Gathering, when he does admittedly go a little overboard on Thomas, after Minho’s thrown him to the ground and told him to leave, he runs not to the Deadheads, but into the Maze. 

He runs and runs and runs, turning here and there until he is undeniably, hopelessly lost. He’s deep into the Maze, and the sky is almost pitch black. He can’t see anything, can’t hear anything except his ragged breath and - what is that screeching sound behind him? 

And then something hits him in the back, a needle that knocks him down and spreads p a i n throughout his entire body. And it’s exactly like before. Except nobody finds him this time. 

When he finally finds the strength to stand up, he stumbles around for - well, he doesn’t know how long. He doesn’t know how long he was laying there either. Two days? Three? All he knows is that when he finally makes it through the open doors of the Maze, he’s tired. Wait. Why are the Doors open? It’s night.

A memory strikes him when he sees a Griever heading towards the Homestead. A woman speaking. 

“Once we send Subject A1 into the Maze, the doors will not close for the night. The Grievers will take one subject per night, forcing the subjects killzones to work harder.”

He starts heading towards the Homestead, not quite intent on what he’s planning on doing. His mind becomes hazy. He can vaguely remember breaking into the Homestead and then being chased by the Grievers into the Maze. They run all the way to the Griever hole, where they enter and go to - wherever they go.

He collapses again, but this time there’s someone. And he knows exactly who it is. Minho crouches over him, trying to gauge whether he’s conscious or not. He barely is, but he can at least see how worried Minho looks. And it hurts more than the any of the Stings did. Because after all the terrible things he’s done, Minho still cares. For what reason, Gally will never know. 

And right before he blacks out again, he can feel a hand carding through his hair. And if he is truly about to die, this is a nice last moment. 

When he finally wakes up again, the black veins running over his skin have receded, but they are still very much there. He’s strapped into a bed in somewhere that has to be a WICKED facility. There’s a woman standing over him, injecting something into his arm that makes him grow drowsy. Then his body is moving, but he’s not making it. WICKED is controlling his body somehow. He’s led to a room where he gets a change of clothes and, for some reason, a gun. 

And then the other Gladers are there, and then there is a single gunshot, and a kid, and blood. And there’s pain in his chest, and then everyone else - including the woman from WICKED - is gone, and he believes he’s truly dead this time. Even if he isn’t, he really, really wants to be. 

Then there’s a girl dragging him outside, and he’s in a car. And then he blacks out again.


	2. New places and Rekindled memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gally is taken in by a resistance group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the books, Gally is taken in by the Right Arm, but I think this is following the movie verse, so it's a different group.

When he finally wakes up, he’s on a bed again, but it’s less comfortable, and he’s not strapped down. There’s two people next to him, a woman and a boy who looks to be around his age. He sits up and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. The boy smiles at him and the woman moves to grab his arm and check on the IV stuck in it. He flinches, but she continues, gently poking and prodding his arm. 

“Where am I?” 

It’s the boy who responds. 

“Somewhere safe. I’m Eli, and this is Emma.” he gestures to the woman who is now fishing around in a medical bag. She nods her head but doesn’t look up. It isn’t until she takes a stethoscope and places it in the crook of his elbow that he realizes that the black veins are gone completely. His first thought is “How did that happen?” His second thought is “I should be dead.”

Eli asks him something, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Sorry?”

Eli laughs. “I asked what your name is.” 

His name. He opens his mouth to say “Gally”, but something else surfaces in his memory. A girl, yelling at him. Not angrily, though. “Leo!”

Leo. His name is Leo. 

“My name...my name is Gally.” He doesn’t know quite why he says this. It just doesn’t feel right telling something so personal to people he barely knows. Something he just found out himself.

Eli nods. “Interesting name. Lemme guess. WICKED gave it to you?” Gally just nods. “They named me after Galileo. A...close friend of mine gave me the nickname Gally.” his chest hurts at the mere mention of Minho.

Eli starts talking more about where they are, which Gally is thankful for. Emma finishes her checkup and packs up her things. She starts talking to him, interrupting Eli.

“You’re gonna have to keep that IV in for the rest of the day. I’ll bring you some food and water, and then you need to sleep.” Gally just nods. She picks up her bag and leaves. After she’s out of earshot, Eli grins at him.

“Don’t worry, she’s not all bad. She’s our only medical personnel, so she’s pretty stressed.” 

“...How many other people are here?” On one hand, he’s hoping for a small number, but on the other hand he hopes it’s a large number. Large enough to fight WICKED.


	3. Blurred days and Depressing thoughts

Gally settles in quickly. He learns through Eli that there’s roughly 100 people in the base. Not enough to fight WCKD. But after a few weeks, he also learns of other bases. Placed in better spots, with more people. Combined, they would be more than enough.

He spends most of his days working around the base, helping repair things and even building a small hut. Well, building a hut with the help of Eli and a few others. He doesn’t talk much, but Eli more than makes up for it. 

The days blur together after a while, a simple cycle of sleep, food, and work. During the day, he only responds with nods of the head or a shrug of the shoulders. During the night, however, he sneaks out of the room he shares with Eli and two other boys and heads to the roof. 

Most nights it’s too cloudy to see the stars, but he heads up there anyways. He waits until all the lights in the base go out, and then he starts remembering. Well, not exactly remembering. More like revisiting. Revisiting the better memories. Ones from the Glade, from before he was Stung. 

He remembers his friends.

Ben. He was Gally’s first friend in the Glade. Charming and confident and kind. 

And dead.

Nick. Their fearless leader. Caring and patient and strong. 

And dead.

Alby. The leader-in-command, before Nick died. Strong and stubborn and smart.

And dead.

Chuck. The youngest one of them all. Funny and innocent and far too young.

And Gally killed him. 

And then there’s Newt, and Thomas, and Fry, and Winston. The ones who made it out, but Gally has no idea if they’re dead or alive. Hell, they could be past the Gone for all he knows. He knows he’s Immune, Emma told him that much, but the others…

He waits until the sun’s almost risen until he lets himself think about Minho.

Minho, who was one of the first to go up.  
Minho, who was the Keeper of the Runners.  
Minho, who was Gally’s first memory of love.  
Minho, who was angry with Gally before they made it out. 

Minho, who put a spear through Gally’s chest.

The last thing Gally allows himself to remember is the look in Minho’s eyes after they kissed for the first time. Curious and vulnerable and trusting. And loving.

And then, one morning, a new memory visits Gally. One from when he was Stung for a second time. Minho had followed him into the Maze. He remembers how worried Minho looked. He remembers Minho’s hand carding through his hair. And he remembers something new. He remembers Minho pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

It isn’t until his eyes are dry again and the sun is well up that he climbs down from the roof and back into his bed for an hour or two of sleep. He has no dreams, at least none he can remember. Eli shakes him awake and watches amusedly as Gally stumbles around tiredly, pulling clothes on. 

The blur begins again. Food, then work, then the roof. He’s getting barely any sleep. He’d skip over mealtimes to work if he could, but Eli drags him there anyways. He mostly drinks coffee and eats only if Eli nags him enough. He pushes himself hard at work. Probably too hard. He’s in a state of constant soreness and sleep deprivation. 

It isn’t until he collapses at work and he wakes up in the medical tent that he figures he’s probably depressed. 

It’s not like anybody cares, though.


	4. Recovery Days and New Fights

Once Emma has deemed him well enough to leave, Eli sticks to his side nearly 24/7. He doesn’t let Gally leave the cafeteria until he’s eaten a sufficient amount. He makes Gally do the lighter stuff at work. And when Gally tries to go up to the roof, Eli catches him trying to go out the door and makes him lie back down. Gally kinda hates him for it.

It isn’t until he’s changing and he sees his reflection for the first time in a few months. He has to take a second look. His ribs are showing through his sides and his hip bones are poking out. It’s when he looks up at his face that he is a lot more grateful for Eli. His hair is a lot longer and matted-looking, and he has huge dark circles under his eyes. So, in other words, he looks like a depressed piece of klunk. 

He’s laying in bed one night when a thought strikes him.

“What would Minho say if he saw me like this?” 

What Gally wants to think is that Minho wouldn’t care. Why would he? He put a spear through his chest, and hey, it’s not like anybody cares about him anyways. But the small bit of hope still left in Gally’s brain knows that Minho would probably make him lay down and cuddle with him under a blanket and smother him with kisses. 

Gally wants to take that thought and beat it to a pulp. It just makes him more depressed because he can’t remember what kissing Minho even feels like. Hell, he can barely even remember what Minho’s face looks like. 

But he starts noticing himself eating more without being prompted, and not trying to overexert himself. He goes to the roof after dinner when the sun’s going down instead of in the middle of the night. He’s actually sleeping. Eli doesn’t comment on this change, but he’s glad Gally’s getting better. 

Things don’t exactly return to a blur, but they return to normal. Eli’s letting Gally do more at their worksite, and in return, Gally sometimes lets Eli sit with him on the roof. He never tells him what he does up there, but it is nice to have company. 

Months pass, and things don’t get worse, but they don’t get all that better, either. And then, one day, someone comes through the dorms and takes all the able-bodied boys and a few girls to a different part of the facility. It’s not anywhere Gally’s seen before, and when he looks over at Eli, he just shrugs. 

They are given beds, and for some, including Gally, haircuts. If you can call it that. They just buzz his hair until there’s about an inch left. And then, in the morning, they train. Mostly in physical combat and gun usage. And the running. So much running. Many times, Gally wonders how Minho does it. Did it. 

They don’t get as much food as they used too, and what with all the running, Gally’s weight is dropping again. His rib and hip bones are poking back out. But he keeps going. He has to keep going so they can take the fight to WCKD. 

He keeps going so he can find Minho. 

He doesn’t know if Minho is still being held by WCKD. Knowing Minho, knowing the Gladers, they probably broke out. Or maybe they haven’t. Maybe WCKD wiped their minds completely, and they don’t have any memory of him.

He tries not to think like that, but it can’t be helped. On the nights where he goes to bed with an empty stomach and sore muscles. Those nights are when the nightmares come. There’s crying, and someone begging “Mom! Please don’t!” And screaming. He doesn’t know who it is. 

(Deep inside a corner of his mind, he knows it’s him. His mom sold him to WCKD. In exchange for a cure they didn’t have.) 

(There was a girl, too. One stronger and more defiant than he could ever be.) 

(His sister.)


	5. Risky plans and regained love

They show up out of nowhere one day. Gally’s on patrol duty with Eli and a few others. They drive though the outskirts of the Last City, sitting on top of the old vans that somehow still work. He’s scanning the crowd, looking for a face he doesn’t even remember. 

And then he sees them. Thomas and Newt and Fry. There’s a girl around their age with short dark hair and an older man. The girl’s father, maybe? Either way, they see him. And even if he can’t remember his face, he knows that Minho isn’t there. He doesn’t think they recognize him, though. Not with his gas mask. 

Then the truck drives away, and Eli nudges his shoulder. “Did you know them?”

“Yeah. The boys I knew from the Maze, but I don’t know who the girl and the man were.” 

Eli’’s next question is like a punch in the gut. 

“Which one was Minho?”

“None of them. I didn’t see him anywhere in the crowd.” Gally’s words are forced. Eli senses that it’s a rough subject. All he says is “I’m sure he’s alive somewhere.” and drops it at that. Gally can’t help but keep searching the crowd. 

He doesn’t see him. And later, after they’ve taken Thomas, Newt, Fry, and the girl-Brenda-and the man-Jorge-he learns exactly why they’re in the city. WCKD took Minho. And in that moment, Gally makes a decision. He will go to the ends of the earth to get Minho back. So he makes a plan. Now that Thomas is here, they might be able to use Teresa to get into the WCKD building. 

It’s a crazy plan. But somehow, they pull it off. Thomas, Newt and Teresa go off to find Minho, and Gally breaks the vault open and gets the serum. He grabs two vials and shoves them in his pockets, then gives the bag to one of the Immune kids. They get to the bus, where Brenda is waiting, but-nobody else.

“Where’s Thomas?” 

“I thought he was with you!” 

Sighing, Gally runs off again. Behind him, he can hear Brenda getting the kids onto the bus. He can hear muffled shots being fired, which makes him think the worst. He runs faster and grips his Launcher tighter. He joins up with three other WCKD guards on the way to where, apparently, the three fugitives have jumped out of an at least 30 story window. 

They reach the front of the building, where Thomas and Newt and-Gally’s heart skips a beat-Minho are standing, sopping wet and relatively unhurt. One of the other guards is yelling, and Gally snaps out of his stupor enough to turn and shoot the three guards. Once they’re down, he runs over to them, pulling his mask off. 

And Minho looks so confused but so happy at the same time that Gally almost laughs. (He had forgotten what Minho looked like.) And then he speaks. (He had forgotten his voice, too.)

“Gally?” 

Gally just nods in acknowledgement. “Minho.” He looks up at the window and them back at the three. “You guys are nuts.” He turns to head back to the bus, and he can hear Thomas saying “We’ll explain later” to Minho. And then they’re running to the bus, but Teresa intercepts them on the way. She starts talking to Thomas about the cure, and after a rushed conversation, Thomas, Newt, and Teresa head to the WCKD building. Well, Teresa shows the way and Thomas follows, practically carrying Newt. Gally never knew, never would have thought that Newt of all people wasn’t immune. 

They turn a corner and then they’re gone, leaving Minho and Gally alone. Minho turns and opens his mouth, but Gally raises a hand to stop him. “We need to get back to the bus. It’s not safe out here. Are you good to run?” 

Minho just grins. “Remember who you’re talking to here.” Gally nods, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. And there’s something in Minho’s eyes that Gally swears is longing, but then he blinks and it’s gone. He turns to the streets. “Where’s the bus?” 

Gally points him in the right way, and then they’re running. Gally shouts out directions once or twice, but it doesn’t take them long to get to the bus, which is miraculously still there. Brenda opens the doors and they jump on. “I thought you said you were going to get Thomas!” Brenda yells. A “Hey Minho.” is added hastily. 

“He and Newt went with Teresa to get a cure. So we need to hurry and get to the building to collect them.” Gally explains. Brenda shoots him a death glare but climbs into the driver's seat and starts the bus. They make it out of the parking garage before an enourmous boom and a blast of fire at the front gates makes Gally look over in horror. He thinks of Eli and sinks into his seat, defeated.

“We were supposed to take down WCKD, not the whole damn city…” But there’s no time to mourn. They’ve pulled up in front of the WCKD building. Brenda is yelling something into her comm, and Gally doesn’t think they’ll make it. They got stopped, or Newt cranked out, or something equally bad. 

But then they’re running out of the building. Newt doesn’t have the telltale black veins on his face anymore. The cure worked. Teresa’s slightly behind them, but Gally doesn’t think it matters. 

And then the Ratman comes out of nowhere, shooting at them. Gally instantly grabs his Launcher and is out the doors, covering them as they get in. Despite the Ratman being infected, he still has a good aim. He hits Teresa in the neck. Gally knows she’s dead before she even his the ground. But Thomas and Newt are on the bus, so he fires one last shot and turns around to climb back on. He feels a sharp pain in his shoulder, but ignores it. He gets in and then they’re off. They get close to the wall, and then Frypan’s in the crane, raising them over the wall. And if all goes according to plan, Jorge will show up in the Berg, grab Fry, and then come get them. 

And, miraculously, it goes exactly according to plan. As they’re getting off the bus and loading onto the Berg, someone comes up behind Gally and grabs his arm. His injured arm. He flinches and turns around, expecting to see a Crank, but it’s quite the opposite. 

“Eli?” The boy’s clothes are ripped and his glasses are cracked, but he appears unhurt. And, for the first time since Gally met him, he looks...scared. Behind him are two of the kids Gally recognizes from the base, Ethan and Addy. 

“Can...can we…” he gulps. 

Gally sighs. “Just get on.” Eli shoots him a smile and turns to help the kids onto the Berg. Before he gets on, he turns to look back at Gally. And before Gally can react, Eli’s hugging him quickly and then running onto the Berg. Gally stands there for a moment, shocked, and then smiles faintly and turns back to the Immune kids. The last one climbs on, and Gally shoots a last look around the area before climbing on himself and shouting, “Everyone’s on!” to Jorge.

As the Berg takes off, he finds a seat next to Minho and collapses, exhausted. He closes his eyes, but not even a second later Minho is grabbing his shoulder. It sends a sharp pain through Gally’s arm and he flinches. “Shit, Gally. Shit.” He opens one eye and looks at Minho. “What?” 

“You were shot. Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?” He can’t decide if Minho is more angry or worried. A wave of self-deprecation floods through him, making him feel bad for making Minho feel that way. “I...I didn’t realize.” he says, feeling stupid. “I guess I’m just used to the pain.” 

The way Minho inhales sharply makes Gally wish he hadn’t said that last bit. Even if it is true. He’s faintly aware of Minho getting up to grab bandages, and of himself trying to stop him. “Minho...let them take care of the Immune kids first...let them take care of you...I don’t matter. It’s fine.” Minho turns back around and kneels in front of Gally. 

Gally’s aware of Minho cupping his jaw in his hands, and then Minho’s kissing him. Hard. And shuck, it’s exactly like it was back in the Glade. When Minho finally pulls away, he looks Gally in the eye and says, “They wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you, Gally. You matter. Especially to me.” He smiles sadly and kisses Gally’s forehead. “Now let me take care of you.” Gally just nods. His shoulder is a solid block of pain right now. He hears Minho get up and ask for bandages before he finally blacks out.


	6. Final travels and Speaking the Unspoken

When Gally wakes up, Eli’s sitting by his bed. His arm is bandaged heavily, and when he tries to sit up, the room spins. Not because he’s dizzy-he’s on a boat. Eli turns to him and smiles.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” 

Gally grimaces and grabs his shoulder. “How long have I been out?” He hears rain pattering against the windows and waves crashing. “Well, you passed out on the Berg, and then we got to the boat after about half an hour, and we’ve been on the boat for maybe a day and a half?” Eli stands up and hands him a glass of water, which he gulps down gratefully. “Minho was by your side the entire time. I made him go sleep about 20 minutes ago.” Gally feels a flutter in his stomach that he can’t quite place. “Where is he?” he asks hesitantly, not wanting to seem too eager. 

Eli laughs. “You need to get some food first. And-” he shoots Gally a look, “-you should let him sleep.” Gally sits back down reluctantly. Eli’s expression softens a bit. “Hey-he’s probably awake by now. But you still have to eat.” Gally nods and follows Eli to the kitchen, where Frypan and Brenda are talking. Fry hands him a plate of food before Gally even opens his mouth. “Good to see you on your feet. You lost a lot of blood.” Gally just nods absently, eating as quick as he can. He didn’t realize how hungry he’d been. 

He puts the plate down in the sink and hops up onto the counter. Frypan and Brenda have picked up the conversation they were having. Something about the Flare. Gally starts tuning out, but snaps back in when he hears Newt’s name. 

“Wait, the cure worked, right? Newt’s okay?” He had to be, right? If he wasn’t...Gally suddenly remembers the two vials of a cure in the pocket of his WCKD uniform. But Frypan just smiles. “He’s fine. Thanks to...all of you, really. You and Thomas and Teresa.” 

Teresa. A pang of guilt hits Gally. Sure, she may have been a traitor, but all she really wanted to do was save the world. And she was so close to surviving. Now she’s just another name on the list of people that Gally couldn’t save. 

“The cure definitely worked. You should see Thomas and Newt, they’re practically attached at the hips now.” Brenda smirks. “And the lips.” Frypan adds. Gally laughs.

“About damn time.”

They talk for a long time, about new things and old. Frypan and Gally tell Brenda and Eli about the Maze. Brenda and Frypan tell Gally and Eli about the Scorch. They chat and laugh and remember until the sky grows darker. Fry and some other Immunes make dinner. 

Gally finally calls it a night and walks back to his room, accompanied by Eli. He says goodnight and opens the door, collapsing onto the bed. After he pulls off his boots and sweatshirt and gets under the covers, he’s quickly lulled to sleep by the rocking of the ship. Again, he dreams of his sister. And this time, he remembers a name.

(Beth.)

~

He wakes up the next morning to Eli knocking on his door. He mumbles something like “Go away” and buries himself deeper under the covers. “I’ve got coffeeee…” Gally grumbles and climbs out of bed, pulling on his boots and sweatshirt and opening the door to see Eli standing there, two cups of coffee in hand. Gally grabs one and takes a long drink. “Thanks.” They walk to the kitchen, get plates from Frypan, (Eli has to nudge a still-half-asleep Gally to say “Thank you”) and walk into a dining room type area that Gally didn’t notice yesterday. They sit down in the back, exactly how they did back in the camp. Eli doesn’t try and make small talk, which Gally appreciates. 

It isn’t until they finish and take care of their dishes that Gally thinks of Minho. (Correction-lets himself think of Minho.) He tries to ask Eli subtly where Minho’s room is. Eli must hear the desperation in his voice, but he doesn’t mention it. He only points him in the right direction. 

Gally stands for what must be nearly 5 minutes outside the door, hand raised and ready to knock. “Come on, Gally. You’ve already kissed him again. What’s worse about this?” He takes one last deep breath and knocks on the door. 

A sleepy mumble says something along the lines of “Yeah” and Gally replies with “It’s me.” It's all he can muster to say, because just hearing that voice is making him fall in love all over again. “Come in.” his voice sounds more awake. Gally pushes the door open softly. The room is dark, and Gally can just barely make out Minho’s body, curled up in a tiny ball on the bed. Gally closes the door behind him and walks over to the bed softly. He opens his mouth to start saying something, but Minho interrupts him. “Don’t say anything. Just...come here.” Gally smiles and kicks off his shoes, crawling into the bed next to Minho. He wraps an arm around Minho’s waist and pulls him closer. 

Neither of them say anything. They just lay there and soak in each other’s presence. There’s something else there, too. The something where “I missed you” is said through gestures rather than words. And other things, too. “I trust you.” “Are you okay?” And the one that has never been spoken but is somehow the most spoken of them all.

“I love you.” 

This time, it’s said by Gally pressing a kiss to the back of Minho’s neck. There’s a fresh cut there, one he hadn’t noticed before. Someone must have removed his WCKD tracker. Gally pushes the thought out of his mind. It’s insignificant. All his brain can focus on right now is Minho. 

~

They must have fallen asleep at some point, because they’re woken up to Thomas knocking on the door. Well, Gally’s woken up. Minho just pulls the covers tighter. Gally swings his feet off the bed and pulls his boots on, lacing them tightly. He stands up and opens the door. Thomas must have not been expecting to see anyone besides Minho. Especially not Gally, because his expression makes that quite evident. 

“Is Minho here?” his tone is accusing. He probably still doesn’t trust Gally. Gally doesn’t blame him. 

“He’s right here.” Gally moves so that Thomas can see Minho lying down on the bed.”Why do you need to know?” Thomas rolls his eyes slightly.

“We’re here. The Safe Haven. We made it.” 

Gally hears the sheets rustle behind him, and then Minho is standing next to him. “What do I need to do to help?” 

“Get your things together, get them onto the docking ship, and then help others with their things.” Thomas waits for a nod of confirmation from both of them, and then walks away. 

Gally turns to Minho. “Meet you on the docking ship?” Minho nods and starts turning around, but turns back and presses a kiss to his lips. “Meet you on the docking ship.” He smiles and goes to pack for real this time. Gally has to suppress smiling like an idiot, and then heads to his room to gather his few belongings. On the way, he runs into Ethan and Addy, who are both carrying small bags. 

“Gally! What’s going on?” Ethan sounds scared, and Addy looks like she’s about to cry. “Are we under attack?” Gally kneels down and puts a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and a hand on Addy’s. 

“We’re not under attack. We’ve arrived at our new home.” Gally gives them a reassuring smile. “Now go find Eli. He’ll help you get to the docking ship.” They both nod shakily and are about to run off when Eli pops up behind them. “There you two are!” He bends down and picks them both up. “Let’s get onto that docking ship.” He looks over at Gally. “Did you find Minho?” Gally just nods, feeling a blush creep into his face. Eli gives him a knowing smile and then runs off, heading for the docking ship. 

Gally stands up and turns back to his room, gathering the few bits of clothing and other items he has. A few items of clothing, an old drawing pad and a short pencil, and-hold on, what’s that? He goes over to his bed and picks up the small wooden doll. He recognizes it instantly and feels ice run through his veins. It’s Chuck’s. He takes a deep breath as the clipped memories come rushing back. He lets them wash over him and then strings the necklace around his neck and tucks it into his shirt. 

(He would later ask Thomas about it. Thomas only replied with a nod and a sad look in his eyes.And behind that was a look of forgiveness.) 

The rest of the way to the docking ship is hazy, his mind focused on other things. He finds a spot in a corner of the top deck and sits down. Resting his head against the wall, he closes his eyes and lets the sound of the waves wash over him. Soon enough, he hears someone sit down next to him. He knows it’s Minho. He doesn’t open his eyes, but he shifts so that Minho can lay his head on Gally’s shoulder. Not only does Minho do that, however, but he threads his fingers through Gally’s and gives them a soft squeeze. 

They reach the island soon enough, and everyone grabs their things and gets off. Some of the younger Munies start running towards the houses, trying to claim good ones. Gally instead heads towards the back, looking for a house that’s away from everybody else. Minho goes with him, still holding his hand. They end up claiming one near the outskirts, but one (Due to Minho’s insistence) close to Newt and Thomas’ house. 

The door is locked, but after a bit of searching, they find a key under the doormat. It makes Gally wonder what this place was before the sun flares. They unlock the door and start looking through the house. It’s nothing fancy. Kitchen, living room, bathroom (With working water, which Gally finds odd), and two bedrooms. There aren’t any personal effects around the house, and Minho points out that the people living here could have taken all their things with them, but Gally thinks that it was a vacation house of some kind. 

They sit in the living room for a while, unsure of where to start talking. It’s Gally who starts, eventually.

“I’m sorry.”

Minho looks over at him. “For what?” 

“Everything. For not rescuing you sooner, for not telling you I was shot, for-” he takes a shuddering breath, “-for Chuck. For how horribly I acted towards you after the sting. For everything, really.” A pause. And then he lets out a shaky laugh. 

“Do you remember what we were fighting about when we got out? God, it was so shucking stupid.” Gally shakes his head at the memory. Minho tilts his head slightly, trying to remember. He starts laughing, nodding his head in response to Gally’s question. “You gave me a shucking hickey-oh my god, why was I so mad?” he giggles, and Gally is reminded once again how cute Minho is. 

Minho turns to him then, and there’s something in his eyes that Gally hasn’t seen in a very long time. 

(Trust.)

Minho presses a quick peck to his lips and pulls away slightly, but then hesitates. Gally can practically see the thoughts flying through his mind, but before he has a chance to say anything, Minho has his hands on either side of his face and is dragging him into a tight kiss. Gally’s hands immediately gravitate to Minho’s hair, tilting his head at just the right angle. Minho moves forward, pushing Gally onto his back and slotting perfectly onto his body. 

(God, it’s been so long.)

And eventually, Minho pulls away, breathing heavily and eyes dark. Gally’s lips are numb, but he manages to hoarsely whisper “So I’m forgiven?” 

Minho laughs and kisses him again. “Yes. You are forgiven.” His eyes begin to roam all over Gally’s face. “I forgot how cute your freckles are.” His voice is so quiet, Gally almost doesn’t hear him. He smiles at Minho, who blushes and hides his face in the crook of Gally’s neck. “You weren’t supposed to hear that….” he mumbles. Gally smiles and kisses the side of Minho’s neck. 

It is in this moment that Gally realizes this is the happiest he’s been since...since before the Sting. And if this is what he gets after all the pain and depression and mourning he had to go through, then he would do it again, a million times over. Words leap into his throat and spill out of his mouth before he has a chance to stop them. The unspoken words that are yet the most spoken.

“I love you.” 

A pause. Gally can feel Minho smiling against his neck.

“I love you too.”


	7. People found and Memories recovered

They’ve been in the Safe Haven for a week now. Some parts of it, like the crop fields or the space where Gally and a few others work on repairs and building new huts, feel eerily like the Glade. 

There’s one Group B girl that keeps catching his eye. He’s never seen her directly, or even talked to her. But every time she’s in the area, he gets this nagging feeling in the back of his brain that he knows her. 

But that’s impossible, right?

He’s sitting with the rest of the Gladers plus Brenda and Eli at dinner one night. The conversation is nothing special. Small talk, mostly. He finishes eating quickly and goes to take care of his dishes, heading to the kitchen area. 

The Group B girl is there too, and he’s hoping to avoid confrontation, but she looks up and locks eyes with him as soon as he walks over. 

She sticks her hand out, and he shakes it. 

“I’m Beth. You were in Group A, right?” 

Gally nods. “I’m Gally.” Beth’s eyes narrow as soon as he speaks. 

“I know you. Where do I know you from?” 

It’s her voice that makes him remember. 

“Claire?” 

Her face changes into a look of shock as soon as he speaks. 

“Leo? No, that’s-no. Not possible.” 

She walks over to him and touches his arm hesitantly. “WCKD...they killed you. They made Minho kill you. How did you…?” 

Gally sees red. “They made Minho kill me?” he asks sharply. Beth-no, Claire-still looks confused. “I thought…I don’t know what I thought, little brother.” 

Gally’s response is out of his mouth before he can even think about it. “I’m only two minutes younger.”   
Beth looks at him, and then busts out laughing. “That’ll always be the case, little brother.” Gally’s laughing, too. He’s filled with an incredible sense of happiness right now. He found his sister. 

He found his family. His blood family, that is. The rest of his family was currently outside, eating and talking. 

But he can’t help but feel like there’s still a piece missing. Something about her calling him “little brother.” She should be calling someone else that. But who?

~

They chat and talk for a while, until Minho comes into the room and places a hand on Gally’s shoulder. “Why’d you disappear?” Gally turns and looks at him. “Sorry. I was gonna come back, but…” He glances over at Beth. Minho does too, and his gaze narrows slightly. “Who are you?”

“Minho, this is Beth. Beth, Minho.” The tension is unusually thick. Minho looks at him accusingly. He shakes his head slightly. “She’s my sister.” Minho’s gaze lessens slightly. He presses a quick kiss to Gally’s cheek and walks back outside. 

Beth watches him leave, and then turns back to Gally. “Wasn’t he the one forced to kill you?” Gally nods. “And yet you’re still dating him.” Beth says with a soft smile. Gally can’t help but smile too. Yeah, he still is. Even after everything. 

“I’d do everything in this life a million times over if it meant I got to spend it with him in the end.” 

Beth is silent for a while. “You really love him, don’t you.” Gally just nods. “I can tell he loves you that much too.” 

Beth gets up eventually and walks over to him. She reaches her hands out, then hesitates. Gally smiles softly and pulls her into a hug. She returns it immediately. When they pull away, she laughs. “Since when have you been taller than me, little brother?” He smirks and rests his arm on her head. She pushes him off and fakes annoyance, but then her face relaxes. “Really, though, little brother, I’m glad I found you.” 

“I’m glad too.” He gives her one last smile and then walks away, over to his and Minho’s cabin. The door is unlocked, and he opens it quietly in case Minho’s already asleep. He isn’t, however. He’s sitting on the couch, reading a book from off the shelves. He stands up and walks over when Gally comes in. 

Without warning, he kisses him. Gally kisses back, but Minho pulls away quickly. Gally backs off, slightly confused. “Is everything okay?” Minho nods, then shakes his head, then nods, then finally shrugs. He sighs and places his head on Gally’s shoulder. Gally puts his arms around him, and Minho relaxes slightly. 

“I don’t-I just-“ he sighs. “I’m just tired.” Gally nods. They stand like that for a while, until Gally can hear Minho’s breath evening out. He smiles to himself and shifts his arms to pick Minho up and carry him to the bed. 

The bed is still stiff, and it takes quite a bit of moving around before he’s comfortable. It wakes Minho up, however. Minho just smirks at him. 

“What?” Gally asks innocently. “This bed is still quite stiff. We should...break it in more.” Minho pushes Gally onto his back and climbs on top of him, cheeks flushed and eyes dark. “Would you agree?”

Gally just laughs and pulls Minho down into a passionate kiss. 

~

Gally wakes up to the smell of coffee the next morning. He sits up and yawns, grimacing slightly at the soreness from his and Minho’s...activities last night. He pulls on his underwear and a pair of pants. He reaches for his shirt, but it’s not where Minho threw it last night. He sighs and just grabs a different one from the closet. He can look for it later.

He didn’t have to look for long. When he walks into the kitchen, Minho is sitting on the counter in his t-shirt and boxers, sipping from a mug. He sees Gally walk in and smiles tiredly, setting his mug down and reaching his arms out. Gally walks over and into his arms, pressing a kiss to his neck. Minho hums softly and presses a return kiss to his temple. 

“Last night, when you were talking to that girl....your sister...I thought that you were cheating on me.” Minho mumbles. “That’s why I was acting...weird last night when you walked in.” Gally just smiles into Minho’s neck. “It’s okay. I just...I forgot I had a sister. And...I’ve remembered other things, too.” 

Minho lifts his head up. “Like what?”

“I grew up in Texas. I was really into astrology. I had a telescope, and I would go look through it every night. I lived on the coast, but I almost drowned when I was really young, so I was terrified of swimming until Beth helped me with it.” 

Minho’s smiling at him with a ‘look’ in his eye. “Didn’t WCKD name you after Galileo?” Gally nods. “He was a really famous astronomer. I suppose that’s not a coincidence.” 

“Speaking of which.” 

Minho tilts his head, confused.

“Leo. My real name. It’s Leo.” 

Minho smiles and pulls him into a kiss. 

He pulls away slightly, and when he speaks, his lips brush over Gally’s.

“Hello, Leo.” 

Gally’s already pulling him back towards the bedroom.

~

When they get up and leave the house for real, the sun is high in the sky and most people have left the cafeteria area and are at their jobs. However, Frypan and a few others are still in the kitchen, cleaning up. 

“Morning, you two. Why you up so late?” Fry asks as they approach. Minho shrugs. “Why not? We’re finally able to.” 

Fry laughs in agreement. “Yeah, we had to get up pretty early. You to run and me to prepare meals. You didn’t have to get up super early, though, Gally.” Fry points out. “Lucky slinthead.” Gally laughs. “That’s true.” 

“Here.” Fry’s handing them plates of food before they even say anything. They accept thm gratefully and begin to dig in. Fry watches bemusedly, leaning back on the counter. 

“Hey, Minho. You got a, uh, little something on your neck.” Fry says, smirking. Minho drops his fork and puts his hand on his neck, blushing bright red. “I think I know why you really took so long, huh?” 

 

Minho just groans and hides his face in Gally’s shoulder. Fry laughs at his childishness. “I wondered if you two would still be together. Everybody thought you two were done when Thomas came up in the Box.” 

Minho just shrugs, head still on Gally’s shoulder. “We kinda were. The Sting made it kinda rough, what with me being a huge shuck-faced asshole and all.” Minho lifts his head up at this. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. WCKD was probably controlling you, honestly.” 

Gally sighs. “Min...just let it be.” Minho tries to argue some more, but Gally shoots him a look and he shuts his mouth with a sigh. They finish eating in silence, and Fry takes their plates almost instantly to go wash them. 

Gally presses a quick kiss to Minho’s temple with a “See you later” before he walks away to his workstation. Minho leaves as well, shouting a “Thanks!” to Fry. 

The day passes quickly, work being as mundane and simple as usual. All the hard work is done at this point. They aren’t in as much of a hurry to do repairs and build new things. However, Gally does get a bit of a nasty look from the Munie who claims to be in charge of the area for showing up late. Gally just ignores him and heads over to help Eli with patching up the side of a house. 

~

Gally eventually finds Minho and the others at a smaller campfire close to the beach. Before he reaches it, however, someone at another fire catches his eye. He walks over and taps Beth on the shoulder. “Hey, come meet my friends.” She obliges and gets up, walking towards the beach with him. 

“Am I to meet the boyfriend, too?” She asks with a smirk. Gally pointedly ignores her. She takes his silence as a good signal. They reach the fire, and several voices call out variations of “Hey, Gally!” He says a “Hey guys” in return and sits down next to Minho, Beth on his other side. He sees Harriet, Sonya, and Aris’ faces turn to shock. Aris looks like he wants to kill her. 

“Who’s that?” Thomas asks from his spot next to Newt. Practically in Newt’s lap, Gally notes. Minho gives him a “You okay to tell them?” look disguised as a soft smile. Gally gives the smallest nod as a reassurance. 

“This is Beth. She was in Group B, and she’s...she’s my sister.” This gets quite a few surprised looks from the group. “Wouldn’t they have erased that from your memory, though?” Thomas asks, confused. Gally rolls his eyes slightly. “Yeah. I guess the erasure isn’t permanent. I’ve gotten other memories back, too. Random facts.” 

“I know exactly what you mean. Sonya? Turns out she’s my sister.” Newt adds. “Well, Lizzie. Not Sonya.” Gally can’t say he’s surprised. The conversation carries on, the Gladers introducing themselves to Beth and swapping stories about the different Mazes. 

Soon, the fire starts dying and most people have gone back to their houses. Sonya-Lizzie-, Harriet, and Aris are the first to leave. Brenda and Beth after them, and then Eli. Soon, only the Gladers are left at the fire. 

Fry is the first to speak. “You know, this is almost exactly what I imagined life would be like after we got out of the Maze. Except, you know, minus the global destruction and devastating virus.” he laughs a little. The rest murmur agreement.

“Yeah, the virus that WCKD released.” Gally adds. The rest of them look at him in shock. “They did what?” Fry asks, voice shaking a little. Gally nods. “It was one of the things I remembered. Back in WCKD, before they put us in the Maze, Minho and I had a plan to escape.” He looks over at Minho, who shrugs apologetically. 

“I did a lot of sneaking around, I guess. One day, I was hiding in the vents, and I guess I was near Chancellor Alec’s office. I heard him talking with Director Paige. She made some quip about...well, I forget the phrasing, but basically, the Flare was a man-made. It was supposed to be a disease that put people into comas and became less contagious as it spread. Population control after the sun flares. But WCKD didn’t test it enough, and, well, you know the rest.” 

The Gladers are silent for a while, processing the information. It’s a lot to take in. 

“What I still don’t know is why they took me. I’m not..wasn’t? immune.” Newt finally says. “I do actually remember when Lizzie and I were taken. They saw that I wasn’t immune, but they took me anyways.” He takes a shaky breath. “I think I’m immune now, though. You can’t get the Flare twice.” At this, he looks over at Thomas and smiles. They share a quick kiss, both blushing.

“God, you two are shucking cheesy.” Minho interrupts. Newt fakes a look of offense. “I’m hurt! It’s not like you and Gally are any better!” 

“Uhhhh...yes we are?” Minho counters. “Fry, help me out here!” 

“I’m torn. Yeah, Newt and Thomas are annoyingly sappy, but Minho, you walk around with hickeys all over your neck, man. Not much better.” Fry smirks. Minho makes a noise of argument, but Gally just laughs. “True, true.” 

The conversation is cut short when Thomas yawns loudly, causing another round of laughter. “Oh, shut up…” Thomas mutters, but he’s smiling too. Newt stands up and pulls Thomas up. “Okay, time for bed.” 

“Shut up, mom. You can’t tell me what….” Minho’s argument is stopped by a yawn, causing Newt to smirk. “Sorry, what was that?” Minho just glares at him and drapes his body over Gally. “Oh no I’m too tired to walk what a tragedy.” He says, looking at Gally with pleading eyes. 

 

“I’m not carrying you, shuckface.” He pushes Minho off of his lap and onto the ground. Minho turns away in mock annoyance. Gally presses a kiss to the top of his head, and Minho relaxes, leaning back into Gally’s legs. “I’m not carrying you.” Gally repeats. 

Thomas and Newt bid goodnight and return to their cabin. Gally and Fry talk some more. Minho interjects here and there at the beginning, but he ends up falling asleep. Gally rolls his eyes, smiling. “Dammit. Now I have to carry him.” 

Fry laughs. “Night, Gally.”

“Night Fry.”

Gally’s last coherent thought as he falls asleep, Minho curled up in his arms, is “I guess I did get a pretty good life after all.”


	8. Families started and Memories made

It had been almost 4 years since they arrived. A year without WCKD, without Cranks, without threat. It was, by far, the best 4 years of Gally’s life. Years full of friends and family and laughter and good times, and everything that Gally’s life should have been filled with, had it not been for WCKD.

The best part comes in the end of the year, in the winter. The world was still too warm for it to snow, but it definitely grew colder. Minho started wearing Gally’s sweatshirts more and more often, which Gally did not mind in the slightest. 

There was one night where they hadn’t quite gotten the heating unit working properly, and it was pretty miserable. They had all of the blankets in the house piled on top of them, and it was still chilly. Gally woke up at one point in the night to see Minho with the covers pulled up to his nose, and he couldn’t help but grin at how shucking cute he looked. 

But then Minho woke up with a slight gasp. 

“You okay? Nightmare?” Gally asked. Minho shakes his head, smiling at Gally. 

“God, Minho, you’re so shucking perfect.” 

Minho laughs, and Gally’s heart almost leaps out of his chest. “I’m glad to hear you still think that.”

Gally blushes. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” Minho nods, amusement still twinkling in his eyes. 

A pause. 

“Noah.” 

Gally blinks. “What?”

“My real name. It’s Noah.” Minho smiles at him and shrugs slightly. 

Gally just reaches to pull him into a kiss. “Hello Noah.”

Minho laughs and kisses him back. “Hello, Leo.”

~

Gally and Eli have taken to exploring the unused houses, seeing if there’s anything of value. Some clothes, bedsheets, furniture. There’s even a bottle of honey in one of the houses, which they give to Fry. 

In one of the last houses, there’s quite a few things of value. Expensive looking clothes and furniture, a safe of money (Which is unfortunately useless), and a jewelry box. It’s got necklaces, bracelets, and a handful of assorted earrings. What catches Gally’s eye, however, is the matching set of rings and a ring with a large gem on it in a separate drawer. He pockets them when Eli turns his back and then continues looking around.

Gally plans it out for an entire week. Well, the actual planning only takes a day, but working up the nerve and waiting for the right time takes a week. He decides to do it during the bonfire that they have once or twice a month.

He keeps checking his pocket almost obsessively. Minho looks at him oddly a few times, but never asks, which Gally is glad for. 

And finally, once all the plates have been cleared away, the fire has died down, and people are returning to their homes, Gally gathers his last bits of courage and stands up. He leans down to Minho and whispers in his ear, “Take a walk with me?” 

Minho gets up and bids goodbye to Thomas and Newt. 

“Lead the way.” 

~

They eventually stop walking when they reach the edge of a cliff Gally found one day. It overlooks the ocean, and they can see the last sliver of the sun. It reminds Gally of the nights he would spend on the rooftop, remembering his friends and his past, and the only boy he’s ever loved.

And he takes a deep breath, turns to that boy, and gets down on one knee. 

“Mi-Noah.” His hands and his voice are shaking. He’s not sure he can do this. 

But then he looks up, and the smile on Minho’s face washes away any fear.

“Noah. Since the day I met you, there was just something about you that I couldn’t shake. You made me feel safe and...useful in a place where I had nothing but my name, and not even my real one. I-I.” His voice falters, his throat choked up with tears. “I love you.” 

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of the rings, the one with the gemstone. 

“Will you marry me?”

The smile on Minho’s face is bright enough to give him his answer. 

“Yes. Yes, Leo, I’ll marry you.” 

Gally breathes a sigh of relief and stands up, sliding the ring onto Minho’s finger and then finally, finally kisses him.

Minho pulls away slowly and keeps close to Gally, arms around his waist. He smiles and puts his lips close to Gally’s ear. 

“You cheesy shuckface.” 

Gally just laughs. 

“Love you too.”

~

They make their way back when it starts growing almost too dark to see. There’s still a fire lit, and all of their friends are sitting there. They sit down in one of the empty spots, next to Beth. She raises an eyebrow at Gally, but says nothing. 

The conversation reaches a lull, and a thought strikes Minho. 

“Hey, do you guys remember who you bet on for the ‘First to become a family?’” he asks. There are scattered answers from everyone. “Why you asking, Minho?” Fry asks. Minho smirks. 

“Beth, you were the only one to bet on me and Gally, right?” Minho asks her. She nods, catching on. 

“So, uh, Beth wins.” Minho just holds up his left hand and grins. 

There’s a pause, and then everybody starts talking and cheering and laughing all at once. 

Minho just smiles and turns to kiss Gally, earning a wolf whistle from Thomas. 

“So, when’s the wedding?”

~

They couldn’t exactly have a wedding in the traditional sense. Nobody there is an official priest or minister or anything. And it’s not like they can get a marriage certificate. 

But they celebrate nonetheless. The ceremony itself is quite quick. A simple exchange of vows,“I do”s, and the other two rings Gally found, and then, to quote Thomas, “Shucking party!” 

Gally makes a big batch of his special liquor, which nobody really does know the ingredients to. But they all drink it anyways. There’s not as many people as there was with their parties back in the Glade, but they still have fun. The surviving Gladers and Group B members, and a few Munies. 

It’s still one of the best nights of Gally’s life. The highlights include Newt and Thomas (thoroughly drunk) making out in the middle of the room, Brenda and Fry playing a very heated round of cards, and Sonya, Harriet, Aris, and Beth hilariously recreating when Aris came up into the Group B maze. 

Later, after things have calmed down more but everyone is still pretty drunk, Eli surprises everyone there by showing of a very impressive singing voice. Gally can’t help but shake the feeling that he knows the tune Eli’s singing. An old, old, romantic one. 

At some point during the song, Minho turns to him, a soft smile on his face and reminiscence in his eyes. 

“What?” Gally asks.

Minho just kisses him and whispers “I’m glad I met you.” 

Gally kisses him back and whispers “I’m glad too.” 

~

They’re lying in bed, not knowing nor caring what time it is. Minho is laying on his stomach, letting Gally use a pen to draw on his back. Gally’s propped up one one elbow, using his other hand to draw said pattern on Minho’s back. It started when Gally found a pen in the bedside table, then Minho offered his already-bare back, and Gally went to work. 

He finally caps the pen around an hour later. Minho’s back and the tops of his arms are covered in swirls of ink that make a rhythmic pattern of swirls and flowers. Gally puts the pen back on the bedside table and presses a kiss to the faint scar on the back of Minho’s neck. 

Part of the reason he did it in the first place was because he found an old camera and a roll of film in one of the drawers. They had been careful to not overuse the film, because there was only two cartridges, and who knows where they’d get more? So far, they had a picture that Newt took at their wedding, a picture of the sunset on the beach, a photo of what Vince called a lunar eclipse, and a family picture of Gally and Minho with Ethan and Addy in their arms. 

Gally gets up to grab said camera, which makes Minho whine softly. “Stay…” 

Gally just smiles. “I’ll be right back.” He pulls his boxers back on and walks to the office quietly so as to not disturb Ethan and Addy, grabbing the camera and making sure the cartridge is in place. When he walks back into the bedroom, Minho is in the process of getting dressed, but Gally makes him lay back down on his stomach, snapping a picture when he does so. 

He places the camera down and the photo next to it, waiting for it to develop. In the meantime, he falls back down on the bed next to Minho. He falls into a doze, lulled by the warmth of the sun and the warmth of his husband. 

Husband. Thinking of Minho in that way still brings a smile to Gally’s face, even after almost 2 years of them being married. 

He recalls a conversation that he had with Beth a long time ago. 

“I’d do everything in this life a million times over if it meant I got to spend it with him in the end.” 

Minho catches him smiling and raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“I love you.”

That saying has become a part of their everyday lives ever since the day they first spoke it out loud. 

“I love you too.” 

They would have been completely content with laying there for a good part of the morning, but two voices that soon turned into two children jumping onto their bed interrupted that. 

“Daaaaad! Ethan was pulling my hair!” 

“No I wasn’t! You were jumping on my bed!” 

“Nuh-uh! You started it!”

“No, you started it!”

Gally sighs. “Ethan. Addy. I don’t care who started it. Stop fighting.” He can’t help but smile, however. 

Ethan sticks his tongue out at Addy, but they both stop. Addy crawls onto the bed and Ethan more of flops, but they’re both on the bed now. 

“Dad what’s on your back?” Addy asks, curious.

“Hm? Oh, Papa drew some things.” Minho answers, turning around to let them see. They both say “Wow” simultaneously and Gally laughs. 

Later, once they’ve eaten breakfast and Addy and Ethan have run off to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Fry’s house to play with Winston (Fry insisted) and probably get more food, Minho walks up behind Gally and wraps his arms around his waist. 

“Hey.” Gally twists around and kisses Minho, putting his arms on Minho’s shoulders. 

“Hi.” 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, you sappy slinthead.” Minho grins. “Hm. Never thought I’d still be using the slang from the Glade. Never thought I’d live this long, to be honest.” He smiles at Gally.

“Never thought I’d end up actually marrying and raising a family with you.” 

“But you’re glad you did, right?” Gally grins.

Minho kisses him. “Of course.”

He pulls away and holds tighter to Gally, burying his face in Gally’s neck.

“I don’t know how I would have been able to live if I had actually killed you with that spear.” His voice is quiet.

“Hey. It’s okay. I forgave you a long time ago. Besides, WCKD was controlling you. It’s not your fault.” 

“WCKD was controlling me?” Minho looks up slightly, and when Gally meets his eyes, they look scared. 

“Yeah. Beth told me. Apparently they forced Chuck to move in front of Thomas too.” Gally’s heart still hurts when he says Chuck’s name, but at least he can say it now. 

Gally’s eyes widen suddenly. “Holy shit. No. No no no.” He stumbles away from Minho suddenly. “No.”

“Wha-what’s wrong?” Minho asks, holding an arm out towards Gally cautiously. 

Gally looks up at Minho. He looks terrified. 

“Before WCKD...Chuck...he was my little brother.” 

Minho’s face grows equally terrified and sad. “Oh, shuck. Oh shuck no, Gally. I’m so sorry.” He places a hesitant hand on Gally’s arm. Gally doesn’t shrug him off, so Minho pulls him into a hug and lets him cry onto his shoulder. 

“It’s okay. You couldn’t have known, and it wasn’t your fault.” Minho murmurs. Gally lifts his head up and kisses Minho softly. 

“Thank you.” He starts to stand up slowly. “I’m sorry, but I think I need to go talk to Beth about this. Alone.” Minho nods, standing up as well. “I understand. Take as long as you need.”

Gally smiles and kisses Minho again, then grabs his coat and walks out the door towards Beth’s house. It’s not far, fortunately. 

Beth opens the door almost right after he knocks. “Come in, little brother,” She says, smiling, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

He doesn’t speak until the door is closed. “I told you about the kid that WCKD made me kill, right?” Beth nods. Gally takes a deep breath. 

“He was our little brother. Theo. WCKD renamed him Chuck.”

Beth’s eyes go wide. “No. I remembered Theo, remembered that we had a little brother, but...I didn’t know that WCKD…” She trails off, sounding defeated. “And they made you kill him? God. I-I can’t even begin.” 

They spend the majority of the afternoon talking, about Theo, about WCKD, about the little they remember about their parents and their life before WCKD. Eventually, Gally bids Beth goodbye and heads back home. 

Addy runs up to him as soon as he opens the door. “Papa! Papa! Guess what me and Ethan and Winston did today!” She opens her arms and he scoops her up into a hug. “What did you do?” 

“We were drawing, and I made the best drawing, and then we made cookies with Uncle Fry!” Addy explains. “That sounds very fun.” Gally says, setting her down. “I hope you’re not too full for dinner?” 

Addy shakes her head. “Auntie Brenda made sure we only had one each.” 

“Auntie Brenda is boring.” Ethan adds from the table. Gally laughs. 

“I can promise you, she used to be way cooler.” Minho adds from the kitchen. “If you ask her or maybe Uncle Thomas, they’ll tell you about the adventure they had.” 

“But, maybe once you’re older.” Gally says hastily. He shoots a look at Minho, who shrugs and turns back to the stove. 

~

Later, once they’ve finally gotten Addy and Ethan into bed and are climbing into bed themselves, Minho says something rather out of the blue. 

“I wonder how it would have gone if I really had killed you. Or if you had died from your Sting. Or if WCKD had killed me for the cure, or if-” 

“Stop. Stop thinking like that. Yes, it could have happened like that, but it didn’t. And I will be forever grateful for that.” 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~END~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooof this was a blast
> 
> Seriously, though, I don't think this would have gotten as far as it did without the help of the amazing, wonderful, talented @Aki_of_Eyluvial helping me and cheering me on.


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